Basketball: Dribble Handoff and Reading the Defender 3v3

Students work on the dribble handoff: the ball handler dribbles toward a teammate, hands the ball off and becomes a screener. The receiver learns to read the defender to shoot, drive or hand it back, and the defense learns to go over or under.

How to play

1. Half-court demo: the teacher shows the handoff, how to protect the ball and the receiver's three reads (4 min).
2. Pairs, no defense: handoff from the top to the wing and drive to the basket, switching sides (5 min).
3. 2v2: the receiver's defender chooses to go over or under, and the offense reads it: under means shoot, over means drive (8 min).
4. 3v3 half court: every possession starts with a handoff; a basket after a good read counts double (10 min).
5. Debrief: each trio shares which read got them the most buckets and how the other team defended (3 min).

Rules

• The player handing off stays still after releasing the ball; moving then is an illegal screen.
• The handoff goes hand to hand, never tossed.
• No grabbing on defense: get around the screen with your feet, not by pushing.
• Only one trio per side of each half court to avoid collisions.

Variations

Adaptations

• Wheelchair users: hand off alongside the chair; the reads stay the same.
• Deaf or hard-of-hearing students: agree on a hand signal to call the handoff.
• Students less confident dribbling: take the handoff role, which involves little dribbling and focuses on the screen.

Learning goals

• Execute a technically sound dribble handoff with a screen.
• Read the defender's reaction and choose shot, drive or pass.
• Coordinate the defense against a two-player action.

Equipment for a class of 25

• basketballs: 5
• pinnies: 15
• cones: 10

Teacher tip

Mark the handoff spot with cones so it doesn't happen too close to the basket. The typical mistake is the handoff player leaning into the defender; have them plant their feet like on any screen.

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